Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions of Team-Based Learning During an Introductory Agricultural Mechanics Course: A Mixed Methods Study

Abstract

In higher education classrooms, teacher-centered instruction remains the dominant learning approach. However, as calls have increased for university graduates to demonstrate the ability to solve complex problems, active learning strategies such as flipped classrooms and team-based learning (TBL), have emerged as popular approaches to ensure students possess such skills. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to investigate students’ perceptions of TBL in a flipped introductory to agricultural mechanics course. After data collection, the quantitative and qualitative strands were analyzed independently, compared, and then merged to draw meta-inferences. Quantitative findings suggested that students exhibited an overwhelmingly positive view of TBL. Due to the complexity of the qualitative findings, however, they were assigned priority. To understand the intricacies of students’ perspectives, we narrated the emergent themes through Brunswick's three zones of judgment: (1) acceptance, (b) non-commitment, and (c) rejection. As a result, we noted more diversity in students’ perspectives. However, they remained satisfied with the course overall. Moving forward,